New sports field could be ‘transformational opportunity’ for Bibb neighborhood

A new sports complex could be coming to a Bibb County neighborhood by next baseball season.

At its Thursday night meeting, the Bibb County school board agreed to work with Macon-Bibb County on a $1.5 million project with the Cal Ripken Foundation and the Macon Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program.

The multipurpose complex would feature a field of artificial turf and be built behind Hartley Elementary School on Anthony Road.

The project still must go before County Commission for a final vote, said Jason Daniel, the Capital Improvement Program executive director for the district. If approved, the facility could be up and running by spring or summer 2018.

Both the Cal Ripken Foundation and the county would pay $750,000 for the project, and there would be no cost to the school district, said George McCanless, president of the United Way of Central Georgia.

“This is a transformational opportunity for this community,” McCanless said. “We’re very excited about it. We’re very passionate about it.”

As part of the agreement, the county would transfer ownership of Tom Fontaine Ballpark, also next to Hartley Elementary, to the Board of Education. The district would be responsible for maintaining the property, which would be renovated by the Cal Ripken Foundation, and the school system would get first priority on field use.

The board agreed to consider buying from the county the Ed DeFore Sports Complex, next to Westside High School. The school district is the primary user of that field, Superintendent Curtis Jones said.

The complex would allow for the expansion of the Macon RBI program and let children play on high-quality facilities that they otherwise might not have access to, McCanless said.

2017-18 budget passed

The Board of Education also passed the 2017-18 budget during its meeting. The $283 million plan includes $2.7 million for a one-time, incentive-based bonus of up to 2 percent for full-time employees and up to $3.2 million to readjust salaries so they are more competitive. The millage rate will remain at 19.945 mills.

New positions on the budget include 31 more teachers, 22 medical technicians for the elementary schools, eight paraprofessionals to cover in-school suspension at all elementary schools, and 12 certified teachers to handle in-school suspension at the middle and high schools.

The board also approved several purchases for the Academy for Classical Education, including volleyball equipment, metal lockers, bleachers, five Xerox machines, physical education equipment, and three sound rooms and storage modules. The items will be paid for with education sales tax proceeds.

Board members denied a request by ACE to be reimbursed $93,277 for equipment already ordered for phase four of its technology infrastructure project. The school did not follow proper ESPLOST application procedures, said Randy Howard, chief legal counsel for the district. Pat Kelly, chief financial officer for the school, said ACE had to move forward with the purchases in order to ensure everything was ready for the start of the new school year.

A purchase order of just more than $325,000 was granted to Sports Turf Co. to replace the deteriorated track at Thompson Stadium on Shurling Drive, using ESPLOST funds. In addition, 240 Dell laptops and eight computer carts will be purchased for Westside High School, at a cost of about $142,000 using School Improvement Grant funds.

This story was originally published June 15, 2017 at 9:44 PM with the headline "New sports field could be ‘transformational opportunity’ for Bibb neighborhood."